{"id":166,"date":"2010-12-08T11:04:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-08T11:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/permissiontolive\/2010\/12\/hope-twas-the-write-before-christmas-day-3\/"},"modified":"2010-12-08T11:04:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-08T11:04:00","slug":"hope-twas-the-write-before-christmas-day-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/permissiontolive\/2010\/12\/hope-twas-the-write-before-christmas-day-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Hope?: ‘Twas The Write Before Christmas Day 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
This post wasn\u2019t planned, but when I saw today\u2019s prompt I couldn\u2019t resist. I feel as though this songs summarizes this year in faith for me.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

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\u201cI heard the bells on Christmas day<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Their old familiar carols play<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
And mild and sweet their songs repeat<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Of peace on earth good will to men\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Joy:<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0I\u2019ve heard the story my whole life. The God who becomes man, who comes to the earth to save humanity from their sins. This God who loves us enough to be unable to leave us in hopelessness. It sounds so sweet, so mild and gentle. It seems like anyone who knows the old familiar story would be filled with joy, except I\u2019m not.<\/em><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in despair I bowed my head<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
There is no peace on earth I said<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
For hate is strong and mocks the song<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Of peace on earth good will to men\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Love?:<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0The people that claim the promise of God\u2019s redemption, the people who recognize Christ\u2019s sacrifice for them, God\u2019s people, are as full of sin as ever. They hate each other, they hate others, they create false understandings of God and load people up with shame and heavy heavy burdens. Where is the good will in a world where people are starving and God\u2019s people care more about their own comfort and reputation? Where is the peace when each group of Christians claim that Christ\u2019s sacrifice was only for the people that understand God exactly the way they do? Why does it seem as if the very people who should be spreading the message of peace and good will to men, can only manage to perpetuate hate and make a mockery of a God who loves? Or maybe there is no God at all, and the hate is an example of his absence.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cThen rang the bells more loud and deep<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
With peace on earth, good will to men\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hope: <\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
And this is where the tears always come to my eyes. Can it be possible that God really is there despite all of the lies? Can I dare to hope that He is not asleep? Could He possibly care about peace on earth and for the people that live here? Could it be that all of the lies about God will be revealed? Is that why Christ came? Is that the real reason for Christmas? To reveal who God actually is? To give us a tangible hope that despite all the ignorance and carelessness and judgement, there is One who can truly deliver us from evil?<\/em> <\/div>\n
\u00a0 <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a>\"Photobucket\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This post was inspired by Bigger Picture Moments Christmas prompt<\/a>. Head over to their blog to read more entries or maybe write one of your own.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post wasn\u2019t planned, but when I saw today\u2019s prompt I couldn\u2019t resist. I feel as though this songs summarizes this year in faith for me. \u201cI heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play And mild and sweet their songs repeat Of peace on earth good will to men\u201d Joy: \u00a0I\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHope?: 'Twas The Write Before Christmas Day 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This post wasn't planned, but when I saw today's prompt I couldn't resist. 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